TVC 15 Lyrics

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Supposedly it was based on an incident where Iggy Pop hallucinated that his girl was being swallowed by the T.V. Though cable T.V. was already around, it was around this time that HBO became satellite operative and rules were implemented requiring cable systems had at least 20 channels. The first basic cable station (a Ted Turner release) came out around this time. This meant cable was just starting to get more mass appeal and spread. This was something not lost on Bowie who had his hand on the pulse of media and the arts.

He could see someone watching their loved ones getting "consumed" by this new media and then, eventually, following after. Due to stresses, wear, and attempts to overcome addiction during the mid-70's, T.V. was a horrible and imposing force that could cause someone like Bowie or Lennon (or the character Pink in Pink Floyd's the Wall) to want to retreat from the world to, and this was exemplified in the movie "Man Who Fell to Earth" with Bowie's character screaming at all of the blaring T.V. monitors he's viewing to "get out of his head".

Like how the piano, bass, and percussion intro hearkens to the sounds of a late night news team gearing up.